


be careful of what you agree with, and always have an Aspirin on you

by bloodyangel6666



Series: be careful of the White Demon's tricks or you may fall for them(or him) [1]
Category: Gintama
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Bad Flirting, Bickering, But not quite, Fluff, Frenemies, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Smoking, Swearing, but they can't do it the right way, drunk Gintoki is scarily honest, like a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:02:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25216705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodyangel6666/pseuds/bloodyangel6666
Summary: Just the White and the Black demon dealing with university and the consequences of partiesuhhh not that I didn't think it through, but let's say they're 21 y/o, not that it matters much, but still
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Series: be careful of the White Demon's tricks or you may fall for them(or him) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1830025
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	be careful of what you agree with, and always have an Aspirin on you

Gintoki winced from the pain in his head, caused by the loud party-goers around him. Sure, he was one of them, but he already got drunk, so his senses became too enhanced. After the thousand and first time he felt a sharp pain because of a loud screeching laugh, he finally resigned, stood up from his place on one of the couches and walked over the opposite one where Hijikata purposely laid, his long limbs splayed all over the couch in order to prevent anyone from sitting and spilling a drink there. Gintoki understood - those stains were a pain in the ass to clean.

"Oogushi-kun?" Gintoki tried to raise his voice over the music and the annoying voices enough for Hijikata to hear him. "Can I go to your room? I'm dying here."

Hijikata raised his eyebrows, then sighed. He nodded and fished the key for his room from his pants' pocket, then tossed it to Gintoki. The latter almost screamed 'yes!', but settled on replying with a tired, yet thankful smile before setting off out of the kitchen and down the hall. He even forgot his shoes in the kitchen in his hurry, but he would get them on his way out, after the noisy assholes were gone.

For now, his priority was to figure out which of the four rooms in this apartment was Hijikata's. Thankfully, his muscle memory was intact, and his legs led him to the last door on the right. The key fit right into the keyhole. Good job, Gin-san! He gave himself a high-five- err, it was practically a clap when he was doing it by himself, but whatever. He entered, hastily closing the door after. Most of the noise was drowned out, but he could still hear it. That was bothersome… All he wanted now was peace and quiet. Was it too much to ask? Anyway, how did Hijikata of all people endure this hell? Ah, wait. He lived here, so he and his roommates had to see the guests out. No, scratch that. His roommates were already pretty wasted, so Hijikata was the one with that task.

Gintoki sighed and went in the bathroom first to take care of his heavy bladder. After washing his hands, he also splashed some water on his face to freshen up a bit. His next problem was that he saw his reflection in the mirror and he suddenly felt self-conscious. A little ruffle of his already unruly hair, and he was done thinking about his shitty drunken state right now. He replaced this with noting that Hijikata's bathroom was so squeaky clean that it was almost annoying. But that was just the way Hijikata was normally. Everything had to be in order -except for his workspace. Gintoki had seen it when he was being tutored by Hijikata two years ago. It was truly perplexing how such a perfectionist functioned normally with his desk being a bigger mess than Gintoki's room…

Next stop was Hijikata's bed where he sat down with a startled 'oof' when the mattress unexpectedly sank in under his weight. That was so unfair, he remarked silently. In comparison to this bed, Gintoki's was a rocky surface in a wooden frame with a white sheet thrown on top to try and mask the sorry excuse of a bed. Just sitting on Hijikata's bed was pure bliss because of how soft it was. Gintoki smiled at the thought and slid down, carefully laying down on his side and pulling out his phone. He scrolled through his social media feed for a few minutes, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Maybe Hijikata wouldn't mind if Gintoki crashed at his room for the night. Just this once.

—

Gintoki was just about to fall asleep, curled on the foot of Hijikata's bed, when he heard the door open and close. Hijikata entered the room and stopped in his tracks immediately upon seeing Gintoki. On his bed. On his damn pillow.

"What are you do- Hey, isn't that my pillow?" Hijikata's voice raised in alarm. He knew Gintoki was aware of his little rules bordering with OCD(which included him not sharing his pillow with anyone in case said anyone either hasn't taken a shower in a while or had dandruff), but there that little shit was - with his head on Hijikata's fucking pillow.

"I turned it around! And don't shout, my head hurts…" Gintoki complained. He threw the pillow to Hijikata who caught it with ease and set it down on the desk beside him.

"Anyway, everyone left already, so you can go too. I need to take a shower." Hijikata explained. He didn't bother turning around as he started to take his clothes off. There wasn't any need to, after all. Gintoki had his eyes closed, so he couldn't see him. Though that didn't matter too because they have already seen each other's almost naked bodies in the locker room before going to the Track and Field team's practices. "Hey, I told you you can get going. Get up already."

"I'm going, I'm going." Gintoki mumbled, but still didn't make an attempt to move.

He sounded exhausted. Maybe because of the mix of alcohol and loud shouting and laughter of the other people who were here a minute ago. Hijikata didn't know Gintoki was so sensitive to noise when drunk. Well, now he knew. Hijikata also contemplated on lifting him up himself, but slapped himself mentally and looked away.

"I'm going to take a shower now. I want you out of my room after I'm done, okay?" Hijikata commanded, more than suggested. Really, he tried hard to not sound so harsh, but he was also tired, slightly drunk and his schedule for tomorrow was packed.

"Mmmhm."

Hijikata could hear the drowsiness in Gintoki's voice just from that little hum, but Gintoki wasn't really going to fall asleep for five minutes… Right?

Just in case, Hijikata showered, then dried himself as fast as possible. When he stepped out of the bathroom, Gintoki was still there, still with his eyes closed, and still in that shrimp-like position. Hijikata sighed and nudged Gintoki's shoulder.

"Are you deaf or dumb? I told you something. Get up from my bed."

"Mmnh, don't wanna. It's way softer than mine." Gintoki argued.

To Hijikata's tired mind it sounded like a valid argument. So he gave up persuading Gintoki to leave and instead walked over to his wardrobe to take out underwear and shorts. He put on the underwear and threw the shorts to Gintoki. Still no reaction from the latter, even when his head was covered by a pair of shorts.

"Oh, come on, you lazy ass. Can't you at least change in these if you're going to sleep here?"

Gintoki responded with a confused 'hm?' and finally made the effort to sit up, the shorts falling in his lap in the process. He looked up to Hijikata with a lazy smile and half-lidded eyes.

"You're letting me stay the night here? How generous of you, Oogushi-kun." Despite the surge of energy he received to get up, Gintoki's words still came out sluggish and quiet.

"Yes. Now hurry up before I change my mind and kick you out."

Gintoki huffed through his nose in amusement and stretched his arms before getting to work with taking his shirt off. When he was done, he unceremoniously threw it over Hijikata's shoulder and on top of his desk. The same procedure was repeated with his pants, but this time Hijikata moved out of the way in case Gintoki's drunk ass missed his target. He definitely didn't want strange bruises from heavy belt buckles.

Hijikata took out another pillow from his wardrobe and placed it, along with his, on the bed while waiting for Gintoki to put on the shorts. Finally, _fucking finally_ , Gintoki scooted over to the side of the bed next to the wall and plopped down on his back, his head missing the headboard by less than an inch. That lucky bastard. Hijikata sighed in relief after the first step of getting rid of the nuisance called Gintoki was done. He turned the lights off and returned to the bed, but stopped himself when he noticed a pair of red irises staring at him.

"Hey, Oogushi-kun." Gintoki spoke up. The bed was so comfortable that it was making him uneasy, so he wiggled around to find a good position before proceeding, "I'll be sure to thank you properly tomorrow. Does dinner after practice sound good?"

Hijikata was taken aback by the nonchalant way Gintoki suggested this, but maybe it was because of the liquid courage from earlier. If he was sober, Gintoki wouldn't dare be so friendly with Hijikata. That applied to Hijikata as well because they were just teammates and rivals. But except the bold invitation, he was more taken aback from his own shock when the realization hit him. Was Gintoki trying to ask him ou… No, no. That was just a regular arrangement between, uh, acquaintances? Ugh. Hijikata didn't even know what they were at this point, and his brain hurt from overthinking, and his body was crying for sleep. He laid down next to Gintoki, purposely delaying his answer to have the time to make a mental list of his schedule for tomorrow. But judging by Gintoki's(damned dead fish) eyes intently staring at him almost to the point of drilling a hole in his skull, an answer had to be given right here and right now.

"...Okay, sure. As long as you don't forget about it."

Gintoki smiled and closed his eyes. Hijikata followed suit after pulling the blanket over them. He sighed contently as the weight of tiredness felt like falling from his back. He was just about to doze off, but Gintoki prevented him from doing so.

"By the way, I didn't know you sleep with only underwear on. You shattered the decent guy impression I had about you."

"Be grateful, dumbass. I usually sleep without it, so- ...um." Hijikata's lips pressed in a tight line, and immediately his cheeks started burning. He wasn't supposed to share this intimate information with Gintoki, damn it. Fuck alcohol. He's not going to drink anymore if Gintoki is around him. "A-Anyway, go to sleep already!"

"Oh~ How unexpectedly perverted of you, Oogushi-kun. You never cease to amaze me, you know." Gintoki yawned, but continued to ramble on afterwards. "Whether it's your high scores in exams, your physical skills, even your body… You're the damn definition of amazing. Exceptional even."

Now Hijikata's ears heated up too. He learned another thing about drunk Gintoki - apparently he was spouting nonsense like these, uh… compliments? And he didn't even bat an eye, like what he was saying was absolutely normal to say just like that. Or maybe it actually was normal, but Hijikata wasn't used to accepting them with grace like a certain white-haired guy did. It was incredibly awkward, especially when those compliments were coming from Gintoki of all people.

"Just- Shut up. I want to sleep already. You should sleep too. Seriously."

Gintoki laughed softly before turning on his side with his back to Hijikata.

"Okay, okay. Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm going to sleep now." After another yawn, Gintoki finished with, "Goodnight, Oogushi-kun."

A vein popped on Hijikata's forehead. When was this dumbass going to learn how to pronounce 'Hijikata'? Where did that 'Oogushi-kun' come from anyway? He couldn't remember anymore. But now, after accepting Gintoki's invitation(which _definitely_ didn't get Hijikata's hopes up for _something_ , nope, not in the slightest), it was somehow annoying that Gintoki wasn't calling him by his name. But then again, Hijikata wasn't doing that either. It was always 'bastard', 'dumbass', 'moron', 'idiot'... Ah. He had to change that. Wait, why exactly? He couldn't just- That would be like breaking one of his rules.

Despite his contradicting needs and morals, Hijikata still mouthed Gintoki's name, just to know the feel of saying it. Sakata Gintoki… Sakata-…kun? Ew, no. Sakata-san? Agh, whatever. Hijikata, having already forgotten that Gintoki was there beside him, turned on his side facing the latter's back, and finally gave in to sleep.

—

Hijikata's alarm rang at 7. Gintoki woke up with a groan, and Hijikata nearly fell off the bed when he opened his eyes to a white fluffy… uh, what was that exactly? He pulled back to examine the scene before him, concluding that his face was buried in Gintoki's hair until now. How did he manage to breathе, he didn't know, but he had bigger problems now. First, he was feeling warm and heavy something on his thigh that he refused to believe was Gintoki's leg because he would go insane. Second, his right arm was slung over Gintoki's ribcage. Fuck his habit of hugging his blanket. And third, he couldn't feel his left arm because that idiot was using it as a pillow. Also fuck his rare act of generosity, he wouldn't- _couldn't_ allow anyone, much less Gintoki, to sleep in his room ever again because what he was seeing now was a disaster. Or at least - the beginning of a disaster.

"Oogushi-kun…" Gintoki muttered after a bit, still not opening his eyes. "Do you happen to have an aspirin?"

"Uhh…" Hijikata answered intelligently. He blinked a few times, analyzing the situation again before coming up with a solution. "Could you first move your mop of a head away from my arm? It's completely sore thanks to you."

"Well, you let me sleep here, so it's solely your fault." Gintoki replied quietly and lifted his head for a second - just enough for Hijikata to retrieve his arm.

"You obviously wouldn't leave in that drunk state, so I let you stay. It won't happen again, I promise." Hijikata grumbled. Finally free from the weight of Gintoki's head, he got up from the bed and started rummaging through his nightstand. In the meantime, Gintoki rolled on his stomach, successfully taking up the whole bed. Hijikata shot him a glare. "Oi, moron, get off my pillow or I'll suffocate you with it!"

"Eeh? Oogushi-kun, you're mean… I'm too hungover for this, so you can try killing me later."

Gintoki answered in his usual lazy tone, though because of him just waking up, it was also slightly raspy, but the nice kind of raspy- Wait, no. Scratch that, it's dumb. Hijikata definitely didn't have the energy to deal with stupid intrusive thoughts that made no sense first thing in the morning.

"First of all - seriously, stop pissing me off, second of all - fuck you."

Gintoki hummed, and Hijikata hoped that he would stop talking, at least for a minute, but the idiot opened his mouth again.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood for such things in the morning. After dinner seems much better."

Hijikata gritted his teeth and handled the situation like a mature human being. He grabbed a lock of Gintoki's hair and tugged on it hard.

"Oogushi-kun, you're too harsh~" Gintoki complained in a mocking soft tone, but as Hijikata pulled harder, he wrapped a hand around Hijikata's wrist, responding with the same strength the other was using. "Ow- Seriously, I'll go bald before reaching thirty! Stop that, mayo freak!"

Deciding the punishment is enough, Hijikata retreated his hand with an angry huff and returned to his task - searching for painkillers.

Gintoki finally opened his eyes and glared up at Hijikata while rubbing his head, as if that would ease the pain.

"Oi, did Soichiro-kun's sadistic germs get on you or something? That's not nice at all, you know."

"You don't have the right to judge me. You're the same as him, even worse." Hijikata pointed out. He also wanted to add that he preferred drunk Gintoki because he could actually see and hear what was going on inside his head while sober Gintoki was a complicated riddle -but he kept quiet for his own good. At last, he found a single Aspirin pill(and made a mental note to stash on these just in case) and left it on the bed next to Gintoki's head. "Be right back." And he turned to walk out of the room.

"Sure." Gintoki mumbled. He shifted to look over his shoulder and grinned. "Nice ass, by the way."

Hijikata stopped and looked at Gintoki with a frown. The latter wiped his grin off before it could be seen.

"Did you say something?"

"I said that I'll be waiting."

Thankfully, Hijikata seemed satisfied with this response, so he unconsciously granted Gintoki another good view before disappearing around the corner and out of the room. Not even a minute later, he was back with a glass of water which Gintoki gladly accepted. The latter then sat up and took the pill, but soon after swallowing it, he made a grimace and placed a hand over his mouth.

"Oi, don't you dare puke here!" Hijikata warned, but his mind immediately went into panic mode. "Take slow deep breaths and-"

Gintoki silenced him by holding his hand up.

"I'm fine. I just hate pills, especially when I have to actually swallow them." He explained and, after a shaky sigh, leaned back on the headboard. His head rolled sideways so that he could face Hijikata, a calm smile gracing his(already so fucking flawless) features. "Were you worried about me, Oogushi-kun? That's cute, but we're both adults who can take care of themselves."

"Tch- You're a failure of an adult then, permhead."

Gintoki waved the remark off with a laugh. He left the glass on the nightstand and stood up slowly. By the time he straightened up, Hijikata was already dressing up, so Gintoki followed his example and retrieved his clothes. A new wave of pain washed over his head, but he ignored it this time, refraining himself from whining like a weakling again. After all, he already got the reaction he wanted from Hijikata. Well, except for the hair-pulling. That really hurt.

After Gintoki put his clothes on, he left Hijikata's room, but not before saying, "Don’t forget to wear something nice for our date~"

Hijikata saw him off with a flip off and "Get lost!"

—

Today's practice was more than intense. Hijikata was furious, excited, stressed and horny at the same time- wait, horny? He wasn't horny for fuck's sake! Anyway, he and Gintoki were taking the lead, but Hijikata was furious _and_ frustrated because after three laps, he still couldn't outrun Gintoki even though the latter looked like he wasn't putting in much effort. Hijikata wondered how Gintoki could do that with his daily sugar intake, but then again Hijikata was smoking, so they were sort of in the same position when it came to bad habits. But still, it was damn frustrating that he couldn't be better than Gintoki.

"You… fuck…" Hijikata breathed out. His eyebrows were already hurting from so much frowning, but he ignored that in favor of focusing on his breathing.

"What was that? You wanna fuck me?" Gintoki shot back with a sly grin.

That only fueled Hijikata's anger even more, so he picked up the pace even more, but Gintoki matched it again. Before they could give their absolute best, they were forced to stop when the coach blew his whistle, much to their dismay.

"Hey, the pair of demons are back!" Sougo called out from where he was sitting on the bleachers when he saw Hijikata and Gintoki approach their teammates. "You know, when you run together like that, I can almost see sparks flying between you."

Hijikata clicked his tongue, took a few deep breaths to regain himself and glared at Sougo.

"Don’t pair me up with this idiot!"

"Pff, as expected of the tsundere-like Black Demon." Another guy remarked, but quickly shut his mouth when said demon glared at him too.

In contrast to Hijikata, Gintoki laughed at the joke and pointed to his rival-slash-acquaintance-slash-whatever the hell they were.

"He's the definition of tsundere if you ask me."

Hijikata pinched the bridge of his nose and turned to the coach.

"Coach, are we done for today?"

He expected a dismissive wave, but the coach frowned at him, then sent the same frown in Gintoki's way. The latter's smile disappeared immediately.

"Three years." The coach began, "Three years and you two still haven't learned what it means to not overwork yourselves!"

"Eh, what's the big deal?" Gintoki interrupted and stuck his pinky in his ear. "I don't know about this guy, but I just need something sweet, a good sleep, and I'm good as new."

"Sorry, Coach." Hijikata said at the same time as Gintoki's talking, but it was drowned out by that idiot's apparent will to die.

"Sakata, two laps, now." The coach demanded, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Huh? But I just got off the-"

"If you're going to overwork, you better do it properly. And no 'but's!"

"No butts…? Well, isn't that a pain in the ass…" Gintoki remarked, quiet enough to not be heard by the couch, but apparently loud enough to earn a few chuckles from the others, except Hijikata. He was stoic as ever. That discouraged Gintoki a bit. Not that he wanted to admit it.

"What was that?!" The coach asked, but Gintoki dodged the bullet swiftly.

"I said I'm gonna be working my ass off!"

"Good." The coach nodded in approval. "The rest of you are dismissed. -Actually, Hijikata, you stay."

Hijikata was just about to follow the rest of the team to the locker room, but he did a 180 degree turn and halted in place at the coach's request. In the meantime Gintoki got in position at the start/finish line and waited for the coach's signal. When it came, he took off like an arrow, and the coach finally regarded Hijikata.

"Hijikata, you're only prompting him to go even harder when you're competing with him." Hijikata hated it when the coach was so straightforward, but he was right. "You should try letting him win this make-believe race you two have going on because you're both playing with fire here. What I mean is, you get too cocky and immature, and put an unnecessary strain on your bodies. I'm telling you this because Sakata is more thick-headed and won't listen to me."

Hijikata furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, and worry that he was apparently on the way to lose his rival.

"But I don't want to lose hi- I mean, _to him_. You see, that's just, uh… you know, our way of acknowledging each other." Now that he said it out loud, it actually made more sense than he initially thought it would.

The coach huffed and turned to look at Gintoki who had almost finished the second lap. Hijikata immediately followed his gaze down to the already panting White Demon who was now pretty much a Sweets-craving Demon, judging by his hopeful look of 'Please, let me finish up so I can have a parfait'. Though the coach didn't look pleased.

"Two seconds off your best time."

The craving parfait look was immediately replaced by Gintoki's usual neutral expression.

"Ah, okay, I'll just go agai-"

"You're dismissed! That's enough for today." The coach then turned to Hijikata again. "So, Hijikata, I understand what this rivalry is for you two, but I don't approve it. It's for your best to cut it out. Got it?"

Hijikata looked away, but nodded. He did not completely agree, but he didn't want to start an argument - it would be useless. The coach murmured a 'You can leave now', and Hijikata did just that without waiting for Gintoki. He would catch up to him either way.

They headed straight for the showers, walking in silence. The walk back to the dorms was silent too. Finally, when they met again at the entrance of the dorms, Gintoki was the one to break the silence as he saw Hijikata actually dressed for the occasion with a deep blue shirt and black pants.

"This shade of blue suits you, Oogushi-kun. And it goes along well with the color of your eyes."

Hijikata expected something more than that. But why was he expecting more from Gintoki? That was plain stupid. But speaking of eyes color… Hijikata couldn't really return the compliment for the burgundy shirt Gintoki was wearing.

Instead he said, "I didn't expect you to own any shirts. That's refreshing to see." Surprisingly, he was more composed than he thought he would be. Probably because his mind was occupied by the coach's words from earlier.

"Well then, let's go and hope nobody sees us walking out of campus together. Right, Tsundere-kun?"

"The hell you're talking about? We're not _actually_ going on a date or anything."

 _My poor Hijikata-kun is so clueless, I'm going to cry_ , Gintoki thought as he started leading the way.

—

Upon arriving at the nearest snack bar, Gintoki(after taking a deep breath) casually slung an arm around Hijikata's shoulders and braced for the inevitable elbow in the ribs… which never came.

Instead Hijikata straightened his back and, as calm as possible, asked, "What the fuck are you doing, dumbass?"

"There's a discount for couples this week." Gintoki explained as a matter of fact. Even though he appeared nonchalant, he tensed up, now a 100 percent sure that Hijikata was definitely going to kill him.

"Tch, idiot. If we're going to pretend, at least stop with this dead fish look. Who would even like you if you're looking like you're bored all of the time?"

Gintoki blinked at him in surprise, then looked back at the front door of the snack bar, barely biting back a smile. He opened the door and almost immediately, a girl with green hair and a maid uniform came up to welcome them. Though instead of smiling, the girl stared at them for a bit, her eyes widening in surprise. In fact, she was so surprised that when she looked at Gintoki the only word she said was 'Boyfriend?' in the most confused way.

Gintoki nodded and patted Hijikata's shoulder as a confirmation.

The girl blinked once. Twice. Then she turned to regard the woman behind the bar.

"Otose-san, Gintoki's here and he brought his boyfriend." She announced.

Hijikata didn't think he ever felt so confused throughout his life.

"Oi, Tama. There was no need to say it so loudly, you know." Gintoki complained, aware of the weird looks they got from the other clients. He sighed and turned to look at Hijikata. "You go find a table, okay? I'll come in a bit."

Hijikata nodded slowly and did just that while Gintoki approached the bar and the grumpy woman behind it.

"What's this about, Gintoki?" Otose asked, "Last time you came, you had a 'girlfriend'! And just a month later you already have a boyfriend? Or are they just covers for you to get a discount?"

"Aah, seriously, can't you two talk quietly? I woke up with a headache and I think it's coming back now…"

Otose clicked her tongue.

"I'll give you a headache when I charge you without a discount, you good for nothing-"

"Waaait, I'll explain!" Gintoki held his hands up. He took a glance at Hijikata, then turned his attention back to Otose and lowered his voice. "Look, this guy is… I… Ugh, just- I would _really_ like to not fuck up with him, okay?"

Otose huffed, her expression softening a bit.

"If you come back with a different person next month, I'll kick you to the moon and back. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll try my best."

When Gintoki joined Hijikata, the latter was looking down at his feet, but raised his head upon feeling the presence. Gintoki smiled at him.

"Yo. I'm back."

"What happened?"

"Eh, just my foster mother making a fuss. It's nothing to worry about." 

Gintoki dismissed the topic with a wave. Tama came up to them again, this time smiling.

"Are you ready with your order?"

Hijikata stood silent, looking expectantly at Gintoki. It took him a few seconds to realize that Tama was asking him, and not Gintoki.

"Uhh… Well, just rice."

"No toppings?"

"Nope."

"Okay."

With that, Tama returned to the bar to give the order to Otose who disappeared in the back room after that. Now Hijikata was even more confused.

"Are you not going to eat?"

"I will. They just already know what I want." Gintoki explained. Hijikata responded with a simple 'oh', so Gintoki changed the topic. "Anyway, what did the coach tell you earlier?"

Hijikata looked away, trying to find something else to talk about, but he failed miserably.

"He doesn't want us to compete anymore. I know it sounds stupid, but… According to him, it's not good for our bodies if we keep it up. I tried reasoning with him, but it didn't work."

Gintoki mirrored Hijikata's frown, but it didn't last long. He smiled and responded with, "In that case, I'll just let you win."

"No, I… Huh?" Hijikata froze, his eyes widening. "You what? Why?"

"Well, I was competing with you mainly because it was fun watching you get angry over it, but… I don't want you to harm yourself. Besides, we're equal in skills and strength, so there's no point in fussing over who's better."

Hijikata stood with his mouth agape, trying to process Gintoki's words. When he finally did, he felt his face heating up and hoped that Gintoki didn't notice it.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" The words came out way less harsher than Hijikata intended to. Or at least he thought it was accidentally. Either way, he was torn between being angry or happy that Gintoki saw them as equals. Probably both.

"Thanks, Hijikata-kun. You too."

Did Gintoki just- call Hijikata by his name?

Hijikata needed a cigarette. Right now.

But just as he was about to stand up, Tama returned to them, carrying a tray with a strawberry parfait, a bowl of rice and a bowl of… what was that? Sweet beans on rice? What the fuck? He knew Gintoki had an extreme sweet tooth, but… sweet beans? On _rice_?

They both thanked Tama, and Hijikata busied himself with taking out a bottle of mayonnaise from his jacket's inner pocket, then emptying the contents of the bottle in his bowl. Gintoki reached for a pair of chopsticks… and stopped in his tracks upon seeing the amount of mayonnaise this crazy guy was apparently going to consume. Hijikata met his gaze with an equally surprised and annoyed one.

"What's that? Dog food?" They both asked at the same time, followed by, "Oi, don't call my special 'dog food'!"

Seems that aside from being equal in skills and strength, they were equally strange too when it came to food.

"Pff-" Gintoki barely held back from laughing, but he succeeded in remaining serious. He cleared his throat and turned back to his task to get chopsticks. Hijikata followed his example. "Here, try mine. You'll see it tastes better."

"Huh? No way, _mine_ tastes better." Hijikata countered.

Gintoki raised his eyebrows; Hijikata lowered his even more. They stood silent and unmoving for a while, then at the same time, both dug in their dog f-... _specials_ and offered each other a bite. Of course, as thick-headed as they were, they gave the foods a try… and made a grimace.

"That's disgusting." Gintoki pointed out first.

"You're disgusting." Hijikata countered once again.

"No, _you're_ disgusting, mayo freak."

"At least I'm not going to end up with diabetes."

"Yeah, you'll just end up fat."

"Oi, stop that!"

"You stop that!"

They stared at each other for a while, groaned in irritation, then sighed. "Fine, whatever."

In the meantime, Tama and Otose observed them from the bar.

"Otose-san, what was that just now?" Tama asked.

Otose smiled and shook her head.

"I don't know, but it looks like Gintoki found his soulmate."

—

In the end, Gintoki and Hijikata spent the next two hours in Otose's snack bar with one hour of arguing over whose food was better, then one hour of drinking sake and laughing about it.

Since they weren't in a hurry to go back to the dorms, Hijikata lit a cigarette on the way. It was already dark outside and their curfew was nearing, so the streets were empty.

"Hijikata-kun," Gintoki started quietly so as to not startle the currently calm Hijikata. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"Hm? Yeah, sure." Hijikata simply replied.

Gintoki quirked a brow at Hijikata's subtleness. He expected that the so-called Black Demon would be a liiitle bit more open after a few cups of sake, but it seemed he was still careful with his words.

"Eh? Are you not going to express your gratitude that I paid? At least with a hug? You're cold, Hijikata-kun…"

The corner of Hijikata's lips turned up slightly as he took a drag of his cigarette. He looked at the sulking Gintoki beside him and exhaled the smoke from his nose.

"You invited me, so it's only fair that you're the one who has to pay. If you want a hug so badly, you can just say so."

Wait, what? Where did that come from? He wasn't supposed to say that so bluntly! Ah, fuck it. Hijikata concluded that it was worth it, seeing the bright smile on Gintoki's face. Wait. When the hell did he start appreciating that idiot's smile? Ugh, that was as sweet as the Gintoki special. Which meant disgustingly sweet. Hijikata caught himself staring and averted his gaze.

"Hijikata-kun, your cigarette's burning out." Gintoki warned. He also noticed that they had stopped walking, but he didn't say anything about it.

"I… Of course I knew that!" Hijikata defended. He brought the cigarette back to his lips, but Gintoki snatched it. "Wh-"

"Too late. Say, can I kiss you now?"

Fuck. Drunk Gintoki's straightforwardness was scary. Hijikata's heartbeat quickened, but he blamed it on smoking. As much as he wanted to say 'no' in fear of his heart betraying him, he found himself nodding. How could he say no to that stupid goddamned smile? That was frustrating. And _maybe_ a little exciting. Okay, really exciting, Hijikata finally admitted to himself when Gintoki leaned in, and he met him halfway. Gintoki's hand, still holding the cigarette, went up as he wrapped an arm around Hijikata's neck. Luckily for Hijikata, the kiss lasted long enough for him to decide that he wanted to embrace the other tightly, and to do just that, almost like he was moving on autopilot. He blamed that on the alcohol.

More than anything, they were both glad that the sake had washed away the taste of their specials.

They didn't say anything after, just smiled like the idiots they were. The walk back to the dorms was comfortably silent again.

Hijikata was grateful that their rooms were in different blocks because otherwise, he could do something stupid. So they stopped at the middle of the path where they were supposed to part, but when Hijikata saw that smile again, he realized he actually wanted to do something stupid. As if reading his mind, Gintoki turned to face him, and they shared another quick kiss.

"I don't know why I agreed with going out with you in the first place."

"And I'm glad you agreed, Tsundere-kun."

With that, they parted ways and returned to their rooms to be embarrassed, but happy without anyone seeing them.

**Author's Note:**

> good news: Tsundere-kun will be stashing on Aspirin now for the next times Gintoki has a hangover
> 
> bad(?) news: Tsundere-kun broke one of his new rules of not drinking with Gintoki on purpose _and_ is surely breaking the other one if Gintoki insists to stay in his room again


End file.
